‘Overtourism’ Worries Europe. How Much Did Technology Help Get Us There?

‘Overtourism’ Worries Europe. How Much Did Technology Help Get Us There?

‘Overtourism’ Worries Europe. How Much Did Technology Help Get Us There?

*?php if ($display_submitted): ?*/>

Date: 29 Aug 2018

*?php endif; ?*/>

Over the summer, my wife and I traveled with our two young kids on a two-week vacation through Europe.
It wasn’t as highfalutin as it sounds. In London, our Airbnb had ample skylights — which rendered the place all but uninhabitable during Europe’s heat wave. In Paris, our charming home-share had a cavernous hole in the ceiling of the entryway, revealing load-bearing beams that appeared to have been rotting since Napoleon’s reign. And in Amsterdam, our Airbnb advertised a kids’ bedroom stocked with toys — but failed to mention the mosquitoes and mice.
But my tech-abetted trip was illuminating, too, because it provided a firsthand look into a vexing problem that has gripped much of Europe lately — the worry of “overtourism,” and the rising chorus that blames technologies like Airbnb, Uber and other internet-enabled travel conveniences for the menace.